Tamperproof serial number

ABSTRACT

A serial number is imprinted on a chemical saturated tape encapsulated in plastic and surrounded by another pre-selected chemical in turn enclosed in a plastic container and affixed to an automobile or other item of personal property-said serial number will be destroyed due to intermixing of the chemicals when the serial number is tampered with.

United States Patent Tamburro et al.

[54] TAMPERPROOF SERIAL NUMBER [72] Inventors: Robert J. Tamburro, 1273Trapelo Road, Waltham, Mass. 02154; Ronald N. Ohanlan, l6 Whites Avenue,Watertown, Mass. 02172 221 Filed: Sept. 1, 1971 211 Appl.No.: 177,044

[52 user. ..283/8,40/l29C s1 .lnt.Cl ..B42d 15/00, sown/00 58 Field ofSearch ..283/6-9,18;40/2,

[56] References cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,083,206 6/1937Sch0eller...-. ....283/8 A X [451 Dec. 26, 1972 2/l959 Morris ..283/612/1965 Fischler et al. ..40/2.2

Primary Eraminer-Lawrence Charles Attorney-Richard F. Benway [57]ABSTRACT 5 Claims, Drawing Figures PATENTEDHEB 2 3.707.300

INVENTORS ROBERT J. TAMBURRO RONALD N. OHANIAN ATTORNEY ownership of agiven motor vehicle or other item of 5 personal property that is made onan assembly line but for the serial number. Therefore if an automobileor item of personal property is stolen and one is able to change theserial number with any ease, it is difficult and in some instancesimpossible to trace the motor vehicle so that the true owner may recoverhis property.

Each year thousands of motor vehicles are stolen. A significant number,approximately percent, are never returned to their true owner. Theabsolute number of stolen automobiles and the percentage which are notreturned to the owner are ever increasing. It would" be expected thatthe person who receives the stolen property would have toregister orrecord his ownership in the various states. When he does, if the motorvehicle has been reported stolen, the given serial number would show upand the true owner would thereby recover his property. Such is not thecase however because a serial number can be easily removed and replacedby another number which has been removed from another motor vehicle thatis perhaps a wreck or it can be a duplicate of another motor vehicle ofsimilar model which has not been stolen.

The present invention prevents transferring serial numbers from onemotor vehicle to another motor vehicle. It is accomplished simply bythis. The device or invention is made in such a manner that it iscompletely. destroyed if an attempt is made to remove it or alter itsnumber. The government therefore through the manufacturer will knowdefinitely what number has been assigned to a given motor vehicle. Theserial numbers in accordance with the present invention are thereforenon-transferable between vehicles, moreover, they can be destroyedveryeasily in a wrecked automobile by driving an icepick or other sharpdevice through the number such that the chemicals constituting theinvention intermix and destroy the serial number.

Therefore an object of the present invention is to provide a tamperproofserial number.

Another object of the present invention is to make a serial number whichwhen installed on an item of personal property cannot be removed withoutbeing destroyed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a serial numberwhich can be readily destroyed or obliterated in wrecked automobilessuch that they cannot be utilized again.

Further objects advantages and features of the present inventionwill bebetter understood from the following detailed specification, especiallywhen read in conjunction with the attached drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of the serial number in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the serial number applied to a tape apart fromthe invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the assembled serial number.

FIG. 4 is a view of the serial number when installed in the dashboard ofan automobile.

Referring to FIG. I we see the serial numbers 12 imprinted and encasedwithin a cover 11. The tape on which the numbers are printed has beentreatedand it is surrounded by a fluid within case 11 which wheninstalled within a motor vehicle or other item of personal property willbe glued or affixed to a rigid surface. With an attempt to remove it, itwill crack and the chemicals will intermix which will obliterate theserial number printed on the tape.

Referring to FIG. 2 we see the tape 15 in detail. Tape 15 is imprintedwith figures which constitute the serial number 12. The tape is thensaturated with a preselected chemical and dried. After the tape has beensaturated with the chemical and printed (the sequence could be inreverseorder no matter) it is desirable to encapsulate it with a very thin filmof plastic. The plastic material is preferably a thermal setting typewell known in the art.

An important characteristic of the plastic that is used toencapsulatethe tape is that it is not yieldable. That is it will crackor break ifit is bent or twisted to any great extent. These physical features ofthe plastic are readily incorporated into the plastic materials inmanufacture which is well-known in the art and will not be discussedfurther.

Referring now to FIG. 3 we see tape 15 which has a very thin coating(spoken of above) 16. Running under coated tape 15 are openings 21 whichform small cells which permit storage of'fluid underneath the tape as itis affixed to base 17 of the container 11. We also note a transparentserpentine insertion 20 which is placed over the tape and withincontainer 11 which has a top side 13 and end portions as well as a base17. Within thecontainer 11 a fluid is placed, which completely engulfsand encircles the tape and fills the voids and cells alluded to above.

If someone were to attempt to drill a hole in container 11, they couldnot draw off the fluid entirely because the fluid would be filling thesmall cells spoken of above. If the tape were attempted to be removed,it would crack and the fluid stored in the cells would intermix with thedry chemical thathas saturated the tape initially and the chemicalreaction resulting therefrom would cause the number to be completelyobliterated.

It ,is contemplated that container 11 would be recessed (which ispresently being done) within the dashboard of an automobile. The base 17would be glued within the opening to a firm surface below which wouldprevent anyone from prying it out without causing a stress to beplacedon the encapsulated tape 15 which would cause the rupture of the plasticcoating 16 which in turn would permit the intermixing of the chemicalsand obliteration of the tape and consequently the serial number.

.Referring now to FIG. 4 we see the serial number and its containerinstalled within a dashboard 25 of the automobile at the edge ofwindshield 24-. A police officer or anyone wishing to examine the numbercan look through the transparent plastic material which makes upcontainer lls top surface 13 and the serpentine insertion 20 and readilyview the numbers without difficulty. The fluid also being transparentpresents no problem or obstruction to one reading the serial number.

Many chemical combinations for tape and fluid can be selected which willcause discoloration and obliteration of the imprinted tape. A preferredchemical combination employed in the present invention has been for thetape to be clipped in ammonia or trygulate acid,

or sulfinate trygulate acid, or finally silver nitrate. Printing canprecede or follow saturation of the tape. Obviously, it is preferrableto saturate the tapefirst and then print on it. If the ink is missablewith the chemical which will saturate the tape or paper, it will bepreferable to saturate the tape first then print on it. The chemicalfluid which fills the container and engulfs the tape has been largelycolbalt salt diluted somewhat in water. We have also used with somesuccess nickel chloride.

Many substitutions in the chemicals can be made. For instance, litmuspaper may be used to print on before it is encapsulated. Dilutedhydrochloric acid which is clear when it comes in contact with the paperwill change the paper to a deep red. So too white phenolphthalein whenin contact with ammonia will I solution against a solution of potassiumferro cyanide will create a prussian blue. Ferrous chloride in contactwith ammonia will cause a black color. Copper sulfate when in contactwith sodium hydroxide will turn a dirty bluish color. Silver nitrateagainst clear ammonia will show a gray-black color. The list could becontinued but it is quite evident that any number of a combination ofchemicals which when intermixed will change colors can be provided withthe present invention and achieve the goal of obliteration of the serialnumber once an attempt has been made to remove it from an automobile.Furthermore it can be seen by judicious selection of the variouschemicals that a third ingredient can be introduced into the scheme.That is, unauthorized fabrication of serial numbers will become a verydifficult taslr indeed. Not only will one have to be able to fabricatethe physical structure, they must be able to constituted in thisinvention will be more than adequate discouragement for thieves in thetransfer of bogus serial numbers from one vehicle to another withoutreliance on reference to particular combinations of chemicals.

Although we have described our invention with reference to specificapparatus those skilled in the art may make many substitutions andvariations without departing from its true scope and spirit. We,therefore wish to be limited in our invention only by the appendedclaims.

We claim:

1. A tamperproof serial number comprising,

a tape for receiving printed numbers or letters,

chemical means for saturating said tape,

a plastic coating for encapsulating said saturated tape, f

a sealed transparent chamber for receiving said coated saturated tape,

a transparent fluid for filling said chamber thereby surrounding saidtape,

said fluid and said saturating chemical corelating in which furtherincludes means for dividing said compartment into multiple chambersthereby preventing removal of said fluid.

3. A tamperproof serial number according to claim 2 wherein said tape isaffixed to the bottom of said chamber whereby movement of the chamberwill result in repture of said tape coating.

4. A tamperproof serial number according to claim 3 wherein said fluidis a semi-paste which will not drain off if the chamber should leak.

5. A tamperproof serial number according to claim 4 wherein saidchemical means is selected from the group consisting of ammonia,trygulate acid, sulfanate trygulate acid, and silver nitrate, and saidfluid is selected from the group consisting of cobalt salt in solution,nickel chloride in solution, and ammonium chloride in solution. v

1. A tamperproof serial number comprising, a tape for receiving printednumbers or letters, chemical means for saturating said tape, a plasticcoating for encapsulating said saturated tape, a sealed transparentchamber for receiving said coated saturated tape, a transparent fluidfor filling said chamber thereby surrounding said tape, said fluid andsaid saturating chemical corelating in contact to obliterate saidprinting.
 2. A tamperproof serial number according to claim 1 whichfurther includes means for dividing said compartment into multiplechambers thereby preventing removal of said fluid.
 3. A tamperproofserial number according to claim 2 wherein said tape is affixed to thebottom of said chamber whereby movement of the chamber will result inrepture of said tape coating.
 4. A tamperproof serial number accordingto claim 3 wherein said fluid is a semi-paste which will not drain offif the chamber should leak.
 5. A tamperproof serial number according toclaim 4 wherein said chemical means is selected from the groupconsisting of ammonia, trygulate acid, sulfanate trygulate acid, andsilver nitrate, and said fluid is selected from the group consisting ofcobalt salt in solution, nickel chloride in solution, and ammoniumchloride in solution.